Alicia Valera
Private Alicia Valera, often called "Val" by her squadmates, was a Gear soldier in the Coalition of Ordered Governments army. Valera was an expert recon soldier who was assigned to watch squads backs.Gears of War 3 Multiplayer profile She was a member of Zeta-Six during the Evacuation of Ilima. She was killed by RAAM during the evacuation. Biography Early life Valera grew up in Ilima City in the Jacinto Plateau with her family, including her younger brother whom she seemed to love very much and be very protective over. She cared greatly about her hometown and she was very upset when it had to be evacuated. At some point in her life, Valera received several scars around her left eye. Evacuation of Ilima Locust Assault Nearly a decade after Emergence Day, Ilima came under threat from a Kryllstorm, and the Coalition of Ordered Governments decided to evacuate it. Alicia was assigned to Zeta-Six and ordered to help load civilians onto Armadillos to be driven out of the city. Four hours before the Kryllstorm hit, she and Pvt.Tai Kaliso finished helping a boy onto one of the vehicles, Lt.Minh Young Kim came over with Cpl.Michael Barrick and asked for a status update. Valera told him that Tai had finished loading the last of the civilians onto the APC. Kim was glad, and remarked that the city was going to be a nightmare come nightfall. They then watched as the APC left the evac station, but were horrified when a Corpser burst though the street and dragged it below the ground. Locust poured out of the giant E-Hole and assaulted the evac station, and Zeta fought hard to defend it, but were close to being overwhelmed. Kim managed to get permission from Commander Walker to use the Hammer of Dawn, and Barrick annihilated the Locust forces. Walker then informed them that radio contact with Echo-Five had been lost, and ordered them to go to Ilima Savings and Trust to try and find them and the civilians they were evacuating. As they headed for the bank, Barrick remarked that it was a shame to evacuate the city, and wished they would just take a stand and fight the Locust. Valera agreed, and mentioned that Ilima was her hometown. Tai told her he was sorry to hear that, and that losing one’s home was like losing one’s family. Valera said that was true, and said that she guessed they were all homeless now. They then saw a Brumak being fired upon by a Hammer strike, but it kept missing and doing damage to the nearby buildings. After fighting through a group of Drones and Wretches, Valera heard sounds of fighting, and they entered a large courtyard and intersection outside the bank, and witnessed Echo-Five getting overwhelmed and killed by the Locust. They attacked the Locust and killed them, and Valera wondered what had happened to the civilians. Kim suggested the look inside the bank, but several emergence holes opened before they could get inside. After killing several waves of Locust, Kim reported to Walker about the situation, and Valera was assisted by Barrick in bashing the door to the bank open.RAAM's Shadow: Evacuation Searching for Survivors As they entered the bank, Valera asked the others if they were hiding in a bank, where would they be. Tai suggested that precious things were kept in vaults, but Barrick pointed out those were underground as well. Kim said they needed to find a way downstairs quickly, and as they moved into the banks lobby, Valera mentioned that she used to have an account there, and could not believe the state it was in now. Tai said that everything changes, but they then felt the building shaking and heard a roar from below, and Barrick said that some things stayed the same. After bypassing a security gate, they entered the vaults, and heard more rumbling from within. They discovered a hallway with a knocked down door that was filled with bodies that had been torn apart, and Valera hoped that someone had managed to escape into the vault. They then encountered a group of wretches and a drone, but quickly dispatched them. As they moved deeper into the vaults, Valera mentioned that she had never liked being underground, and Barrick said he agreed with her, considered what was down there these days. When they entered the main vault, Valera called out, asking if anyone was down there, but received no response. JACK got to work opening a secured vault door, and when they entered, they were attacked by wretches and Flame Grenadiers. Several E-Holes also opened, but Valera and the others were able to defeat the Locust and secure the vault. They then heard someone screaming for help from behind a giant vault door, and they opened it to discover a young civilian male trapped in a cage, trying to beat wretches away with a baseball bat. They shot the wretches, and Valera opened the cage door and asked him what his name was. The teenager said he was Jace Stratton, and Valera slowly approached him and said it was good to meet him, and that her name was Alicia, and he was safe now. Jace thanked her, and said he had thought he was done for. Valera asked him if there were any other survivors in the bank, but Jace said he did not think there were. Valera told him to come with them, and that they would get him to safety. Rendezvousing with the Convoy Valera and the others headed back up to the main level of the bank with Jace, and he told them that he and other refugees had tried to escape out the back door, but had gotten separated. With three hours to go until the Kryllstorm hit, they decided to hurry Jace to the evacuation point so they could continue looking for other survivors. Barrick explained to Jace why the Locust were inking the sky, which would allow the Kryll to arrive sooner, but Valera assured Jace they would get him out of Ilima before that happened. They then saw a Corpser make an Emergence Hole in the street, and witnessed General RAAM emerge with several elite Locust. They continued through the bank, but when they began feeling a lot of tremors, Walker informed them that contact had been lost with the next checkpoint, and they told her about Jace. When they exited the bank, they saw a Gear get shot in the head by a sniper, and Valera spotted them and yelled out to the others that they were on the third floor of the building opposite them. They killed the snipers and several drones in the street, and the proceeded to take out a mortar crew, two Boomers, and more drones. They then entered an abandoned COG camp, and spotted Nemacyst over the evacuation point. Walker told them they needed to eliminate some nearby Seeders before the convoy could be sent in, and Kim told her about RAAM. Walker told him they had gotten other reports of RAAM, and Locust forces were all over the city. She then revealed that Chairman Richard Prescott had deployed the Onyx Guard to the city. Valera and the others were surprised by this, and Barrick commented that the Onyx Guard did not get sent out for a simple evacuation. The proceeded to a building which led to the evac point and Valera told Jace to wait for them there while they cleared out the Locust. They found three Seeders nearby, supported by many Locust, but found that regular fire was doing nothing to the Seeders. Tai suggested they needed to crush them, and Valera pointed out nearby Boomshot Grenade Launchers to the others. They used them to cause the building behind the Seeders to collapse, crushing them, and proceeded to kill all of the remaining Locust in the area. The caravan then arrived, but Valera then heard a thumping noise and wondered what it was. A Brumak smashed though the building opposite of them and attacked the convoy. They managed to kill it, but not before several vehicles in the convoy were lost, which saddened Valera. They escorted Jace down to the caravan, and Valera told him to stay safe. Jace was concerned, and told them that his guardian, Dr.Gregory Wisen, was still at Ilima High School, and he did not want to leave. They convinced him to go, and Valera promised Jace they would go to the school and make sure Wisen was safe. Jace thanked her, and told her to stay safe as well.RAAM's Shadow: Darkness Spreads Ilima High School Finding the Principals Office Valera and the others headed to Ilima High School, and discovered that it was the site of a COG evacuation center. They had two hours before the Kryllstorm was over the entire city, and they hurried quickly to the school. They found the front entrance blocked, but entered through a window. Kim remarked that it was sad to see a school abandoned and no kids learning, but Barrick joked it also meant there were no fights and kids being sent to the principal’s office. Valera said she guessed he was the class valedictorian, and Barrick told her he was the class outcast, so it seemed some things never changed. They found the next door blocked, but Valera found another open window they used to bypass it. They found signs that people had been living in the school, but no trace of anyone. Walker told them that command wanted all units to pull out of the city, but Kim told her they needed to finish searching the school first. They then heard a recording over the intercom of Wisen telling everyone to report to his office, and that there were Locust approaching. Valera was concerned about this, and they decided to try and find his office. As they moved through the hallways, a wheelchair was shoved out in front of them. Valera asked if anyone was there, but they got no response. They continued hearing noises as they moved through the halls, and called out for any civilians to show themselves. They entered the lower level, and Valera remarked that it was strange to think that the halls had been full of people the previous day. When they reached a door, Valera was surprised by a wretch that slammed it shut, trapping them. They fended off dozens of wretches, and JACK managed to get the door open again so they could continue. They soon found camp within the school, filled with tents and beds, and Valera could not believe that people had lived there. Barrick told her it was nothing compared to the Stranded camp he had lived in before joining the COG. They then entered a courtyard, and Valera spotted a Locust sniper with a One-Shot. They used cover to flank the sniper, fighting dozens of drones coming from Emergence Holes and two Maulers, and managed to defeat all the Locust. They reentered Wisen's office and found it full of wretches, but killed them and discovered that there was no sign of Wisen. They then heard more of the recording, and learned that Wisen had told everyone to go to the gym immediately, and that they would then leave for his orphanage. They decided to go there next if they did not find anyone in the gym.RAAM's Shadow: Hide and Seek Locating the Gym Barrick commented that the school seemed like a graveyard, but Valera hoped it was not, and she asked Kim what Control had said about the school. Kim told her the evac group had not checked in, and they needed to make sure no one had been left behind. When they entered the cafeteria, dozens of Tickers attacked them from under the tables, but they were able to make their way through them and out of the cafeteria. Valera then commented that Wisen being the principal explained why he brought people to the school to be evacuated, and Tai commented that Jace had said they had been close, like family. They then entered another hallway, where an E-Hole opened up. They quickly defeated the drones and Theron Guards that emerged, and entered into a classroom full of bodies that had been torn apart. Valera was horrified, and wondered if anyone had made it. Barrick was angry that the COG was unable to protect an evac point with kids at it. Kim told him the COG did what it could for its citizens, but Barrick took exception to that, reminding him of the Hammer of Dawn Counterattack, which had left Barrick and thousands of others Stranded, and killed millions. He then asked Valera if the COG was doing what it could for her by abandoning her hometown to the Locust. Valera responded that the Locust and Kryll were real, and that every life they saved that day was something special, and gave someone another chance at life. They then entered a locker room, and were shocked to find giant webs with purple eggs everywhere. Valera wondered if they were Serapede webs, but Tai said it would take a colony to make ones that big. Barrick suggested that a giant one could have also made them. Valera then wondered why all locker rooms smelled the same, but Tai told her all he could smell was Locust. Zeta was then confronted by several giant Serapedes supported by drones and a Mauler, and quickly took cover to fight them. After defeating them, they entered the gym, but found it in ruins and with everyone dead or torn apart. Valera wondered what could have done it, and Barrick told her that it was something they were going to kill. Valera asked Kim what they should do now since the school seemed deserted and there was no sign of Wisen. Kim said they should just get out of the school first, and after Barrick unblocked the bleachers, they crossed them to get to the other side of the gym. When they got there, a Berserker broke out of one of the storage closets. They avoided the Berserker until they were able to climb the other bleachers and escape outside, but it followed them. Valera and the others managed to kill it by making it run into cars and make them exploded, setting it on fire and weakening its skin enough for them to shoot and hurt it, and eventually kill it. Valera wondered what they were going to do now, and they looked at the quickly darkening sky, realizing that the Kryllstorm was almost upon the city. Retaking City Hall Valera and Zeta proceeded to downtown Ilima, but discovered that it had been overrun by Locust. They attempted to contact Walker and explain their situation, but were unable to reach her. Valera told Kim it would not be any use, as they heard thumping in the distance, and that meant Seeders were jamming their comms. They decided to hunt down the Seeders, and Tai commented on how dark the day was getting. Valera agreed, and said that the city was going to be a graveyard soon. They entered a parking lot outside of a parking garage, and engaged dozens of drones and tickers. They killed a boomer that emerged from the parking structure, and then entered it. Barrick and Valera lifted up a security door, and they discovered several abandoned cars, some of which were on fire, blocking the exit. Valera guessed that everyone had tried to drive out at the same time, and they proceeded up a level to try and find another way out. They encountered Locust, and fought through two floors of drones, flame grenadiers, and boomers. When they reached the exit, they found themselves at an evacuation checkpoint where all the defenders had been brutally slaughtered. Valera wondered what had done it, and Barrick swore whoever did would pay dear for it. Valera spotted a Seeder up ahead, but noted there were too many Locust between them and it. Kim decided to split the squad, with two of them going along the street, and the other two on the rooftops, in order to split the Locusts attention. Valera went with Kim, and the four Gears took turns covering each other from their respective positions as they moved down the street. They rejoined at the end, driving the Seeder back underground. Valera thanked Barrick for the cover he had given her, and he joked that she knew he was always watching her ass. As they entered a building to bypass the ruined checkpoint, Barrick asked Valera if her brother was old enough to serve yet. She told him he had one more year, and remarked that it was amazing how fast he had grown up, but that she wished he did not have to enter the war against the Locust. Barrick told her that he would have a kickass older sister to watch over him when he did, and Valera thanked him for the support. They emerged onto the street outside of Ilima City Hall, and noticed Nemacyst in the air. Kim figured the Seeders were nearby, and decided that their best chance of taking them out would be to enter city hall and find the Hammer of Dawn command center inside. Valera assisted Barrick in opening the gate to city hall, and they encountered extremely heavy Locust resistance. They managed to defeat all the Locust, and entered city hall. Valera remarked that the Locust were using very aggressive tactics, and wondered what was pushing them so hard. Barrick suspected that it was RAAM, and that he could not wait to fight him. They found dozens of drones, supported by Grinders and Theron Guards inside of city hall, but fought through them and located the command center. Valera joined Kim and Tai in defending the command center while Barrick used the Hammer, eliminating three Seeders. They killed the remaining Locust in the building, and then headed outside to reestablish comms with command.RAAM's Shadow: Under the Shadow Finding the Orphanage and Death They went to city hall's exit, and managed to reestablish communication with Walker. She informed them that the evacuation was over, and they were the last known squad in Ilima. Kim refused evacuation, telling her that they wanted to go to the orphanage and see if they could find survivors there. Walker reluctantly agreed, and wished them luck on their mission. They exited to the north of city hall, with barely twenty minutes left before the Kryllstorm hit. They entered a construction site, and encountered Locust entrenched within. They took out the initial wave, and Barrick found a Mechanical Loader and attached a large shovel to it. They had to bash though two gates to get through the construction zone, but two Troika Heavy Machine Guns were guarding it. Valera did not think they would make it through, but Barrick told the others to get behind him, and charged down the tunnel, knocking the gates open and kicking a crate onto the Troikas. They engaged a large Locust force in the next area, led by multiple Theron Guards and including Bloodmounts and Boomers. They managed to defeat them, and Valera suggested they use a large crane to make a way out of the construction zone. Barrick activated the controls, but was worried about the number of Kryll in the sky. Valera thanked Kim for deciding to go to the orphanage, but he told her to thank him when they were out of the city. They reached the orphanage without encountering more Locust, and discovered that Wisen was still there with several other survivors and children. They called into Walker for evac, and she sent an APC to pick them up. Jace was aboard, and he waved happily at Valera. The APC's driver was shot in the head as he stepped out, and Locust forces assault the site. Velera took cover behind the APC and returned fire with the rest of Zeta, covering the civilians as they headed into the orphanage. Valera heard Jace struggling behind her, and turned around to see RAAM holding him up by the neck and preparing to stab him. She called out his name, and rushed over, knocking Jace out of RAAM's grip and she then attempted to kill RAAM with her Chainsaw Bayonet. Unfortunately for Valera, RAAM's armor protected him and he impaled her with his blade through her stomach, killing her as Jace screamed in horror.RAAM's Shadow: Kryllstorm Legacy RAAM tossed Valera's body aside, and the rest of Zeta was alerted by her death cries and Jace's yelling. They opened fire on RAAM, but he shrugged off their attacks and left on his personal Reaver. Jace picked up Valera's Lancer and joined Zeta in defending the orphanage. After the attacking Locust were killed and RAAM's Reaver was forced to crash, Kim sent the others up to the roof to be evacuated by King Raven. He then recovered Valera's COG Tag, and attempted to kill RAAM in revenge. He failed, and was only barely saved by Barrick and evacuated out of the city. Valera's sacrifice would help to inspire Jace becoming a Gear a few years later. Kim would eventually be killed himself by General RAAM in a second encounter during the Lightmass Offensive in a very similar way to Valera. Both's deaths would be avenged when General RAAM was finally killed by Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago onboard the Tyro Pillar. Personality and Traits Valera was a very dedicated Gear who had a personal interest in the war against the Locust, especially during the Evacuation of Ilima, her hometown. Even before Emergence Day, Valera hated being underground. Behind the Scenes *Alicia was voiced by Laura Bailey.RAAM's Shadow credits, 4:06 *Valera was briefly conceived as a helmeted Onyx guard-like character. The eventual design of her armor brings to mind the speed and flexibility needed by a reconnaissance soldier, with one of the most beautiful palette schemes found anywhere in Gears.Art of Gears of War 3 *For Valera, Joshua Ortega wanted a strong female Gear with a Latina angle.Josh Q&A Email Multiplayer *Valera was added as a multiplayer character in the RAAM's Shadow DLC for Gears of War 3 on December 13, 2011. Appearances *''RAAM's Shadow'' *''Gears 5'' References Category:Characters Category:COG Category:Gear Soldier Category:Females Category:Tyran